World War I (1914-1918)
• Causes: Complex web of alliances, militarism, nationalism, and
imperialism; assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
• Key Events: Trench warfare, Battle of the Somme, use of chemical
weapons, U.S. entry in 1917.
• Outcomes: Treaty of Versailles, collapse of empires (Austro-Hungarian,
Ottoman, German, Russian), League of Nations established.
2. Russian Revolution (1917)
• Background: Widespread discontent with Tsarist rule, poor performance
in WWI, economic hardships.
• Key Events: February Revolution (overthrows Tsar), October Revolution
(Bolsheviks seize power).
• Outcomes: Establishment of a communist government under Lenin, civil
war (1917-1922), formation of the Soviet Union in 1922.
3. The Cold War (1947-1991)
• Causes: Ideological conflict between the capitalist West (led by the U.S.)
and the communist East (led by the USSR).
• Key Events: Berlin Blockade (1948-49), Cuban Missile Crisis (1962),
Korean War (1950-53), Vietnam War (1955-75).
• Outcomes: Collapse of the Soviet Union, reunification of Germany, end of
communism in Eastern Europe.
4. The French Revolution (1789-1799)
• Causes: Financial crisis, social inequalities, influence of Enlightenment
ideas.
• Key Events: Storming of the Bastille (1789), Reign of Terror (1793-94),
rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
• Outcomes: End of the monarchy, rise of Napoleon, spread of
revolutionary ideals across Europe.
5. The Industrial Revolution (18th-19th Century)
• Key Developments: Mechanization of agriculture, growth of factories,
urbanization, development of the steam engine.
• Impact: Major social changes, rise of the working class, increased
production and trade, environmental degradation.
6. The Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. (1950s-1960s)
• Key Figures: Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X.
• Key Events: Montgomery Bus Boycott (1955-56), March on Washington
(1963), Civil Rights Act (1964), Voting Rights Act (1965).
• Outcomes: Legal end of racial segregation, increased political power for
African Americans, ongoing struggle for equality.
7. The Rise of Nazi Germany (1933-1945)
• Causes: Treaty of Versailles, economic depression, rise of extremist
ideologies.
• Key Events: Hitler's appointment as Chancellor (1933), establishment of
totalitarian regime, anti-Semitic policies leading to the Holocaust.
• Outcomes: WWII, destruction of Nazi regime, Nuremberg Trials.
